This invention relates to a disposable diaper for absorption and containment of body wastes.
Japanese Utility Model Application Disclosure No. 1993-86320 discloses a disposable diaper comprising a liquid-pervious topsheet, a liquid-impervious backsheet and an absorbent core disposed between these two sheets. The absorbent core is provided in a crotch region with an body wastes receiving pocket. The pocket comprises a concavity depressed downward from the upper surface of the absorbent core and a protuberance rising from the upper surface of the absorbent core to define a peripheral edge of the concavity.
Japanese Utility Model Application Disclosure No. 1994-21624 discloses a disposable diaper comprising a liquid-pervious topsheet, a liquid-impervious backsheet and an absorbent core disposed between these two sheets. The absorbent core is provided in a hip region with a concavity serving to receive body wastes.
Both of these proposals intend to form the absorbent core with the concavity with or without the annular protuberance encircling it and thereby to hold solid body wastes such as faeces in the concavity.
However, various problems may be encountered by such known diapers depending on situations. It is assumed that the body wastes pocket formed on the absorbent core in the crotch region or the body wastes receiving concavity formed on the absorbent core in the hip region various problems misses the proper position to receive the body wastes. In this case, the solid body wastes can not be received by the pocket or concavity. If the liquid-permeability of the topsheet defining the upper surface of the diaper is not sufficient, the liquid body wastes such as loose passage due to diarrhea once having been received by the concavity or pocket may flow back again up to the surface of the topsheet and spreads sideways. If the absorbent core is relatively thin as achieved by a recent technical progress, it will be difficult to form the concavity or pocket adapted to receive a desired amount of body wastes.
An object of this invention is to provide a disposable diaper so improved that body wastes may be received and held within the diaper without forming the absorbent core with both the concavity and the protuberance.
According to this invention, there is provided a disposable diaper comprising a laminated panel having a liquid-pervious topsheet, a liquid-impervious backsheet and a liquid-absorbent core disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet to configure a front waist region, a rear waist region and a crotch region extending between the front and rear waist regions; the laminated panel being provided with a concavity having a pair of joined edges extending along a longitudinal center line of the panel from the rear waist region to the crotch region and depressed toward a surface of the panel remote from the wearer""s skin, the concavity comprising a pair of sections divided along the joined edges and defining a space of a given shape between the joined edges before the joined edges are joined together, and the concavity which is formed as the pair of sections being drawn near toward each other and the joined edges being joined together on the longitudinal center line.
According to one embodiment of this invention, a transverse dimension of the space gradually decreases from the rear waist region toward the crotch region and a depth of the concavity gradually increases from the rear waist region toward the crotch region.
According to another embodiment of this invention, a pair of leak-proof cuffs each having a free side edge provided with an elastic member joined under tension thereto and a proximal side edge joined to the upper surface of the topsheet so that the elastic member biases the cuff to rise on the upper surface of the topsheet, wherein the pair of cuffs extend in the longitudinal direction in the vicinity of the transversely opposite side edges of the absorbent core and wherein a dimension by which the pair of cuffs gradually decreases from the crotch region toward the rear waist region.
According to still another embodiment of this invention, the free side edges of the leak-proof cuffs come in contact with each other in the rear waist region.
According to further another embodiment of this invention, longitudinally opposite ends of the leak-proof cuffs are collapsed onto the inner side of the diaper and joined to the upper surface of the topsheet.